Open Invention Network is a Proponent of Software Patents -- Just Like Microsoft -- and Microsoft Keeps Patents It Uses to Blackmail Linux Vendors

OIN loves Microsoft; OIN loves software patents as well. So Microsoft’s membership in OIN is hardly a surprise and it’s not solving the main issue either, as Microsoft can indirectly sue and “Microsoft has not included any patents they might hold on exfat into the patent non-aggression pact,” according to Bradley M. Kuhn

Microsoft's announcements on October 4th and 10th, that it has joined both LOT and the Open Invention Network (OIN), are significant steps in the right direction, potentially providing respite from Microsoft's well-known extortion of billions of dollars from free software redistributors.

These steps, though, do not by themselves fully address the problem of computational idea patents, or even Microsoft's specific infringement claims. They do not mean that Microsoft has dismantled or freely licensed its entire patent portfolio. The agreements for both LOT and OIN have substantial limitations and exclusions. LOT only deals with the problem of patent trolling by non-practicing entities. OIN's nonaggression agreement only covers a defined list of free software packages, and any OIN member, including Microsoft, can withdraw completely with thirty days notice.

With these limitations in mind, FSF welcomes the announcements, and calls on Microsoft to take additional steps to continue the momentum toward a complete resolution:

1) Make a clear, unambiguous statement that it has ceased all patent infringement claims on the use of Linux in Android.

Following the news of Microsoft joining the Open Invention Network, the Free Software Foundation issued a statement calling on Microsoft to "take additional steps to continue the momentum toward a complete resolution". These steps include "make a clear, unambiguous statement that it has ceased all patent infringement claims on the use of Linux in Android"; "work within OIN to expand the definition of what it calls the 'Linux System' so that the list of packages protected from patents actually includes everything found in a GNU/Linux system"; and "use the past patent royalties extorted from free software to fund the effective abolition of all patents covering ideas in software."

Before going further, let me say: I am not a lawyer. Heck, I'm not even my old friend Groklaw's Pamela "PJ" Jones. But I have spoken to numerous intellectual property (IP) attorneys, and this is the gist of what the deal means. For real advice, though, consult your IP-savvy lawyer.

First, all -- yes, all -- of Microsoft's patents are covered by the OIN deal. Microsoft has licensed its entire patent portfolio to OIN licensees covering the Linux System. Yes, Microsoft has 90,000 total patents, but only 60,000 have been approved to date. The 30,000 remaining are still making their way through the Patent and Trademark Office. As to-be-issued patents, these cannot be asserted. Once they are issued, Microsoft intends to license those, as well.

So, while there are a few people who think Microsoft is up to no good, the experts agree that this is a laudable move by Microsoft to show its open-source bona fides. That's not to say some still want to see more proof of Microsoft's intentions, but overall, people agree this is a major step forward for Microsoft, Linux, and open-source intellectual property law regulation.

On the surface, the significance of Microsoft's joining OIN lies with its agreeing to the terms of the OIN license. But in joining OIN, Microsoft may in fact be acknowledging the power of a far older social force: the community taboo.

Yesterday's announcement is just the latest in a years-long series of Microsoft actions recognizing the realities of today's IT environment. There's simply no denying the fundamental role now of open source and, as importantly, the vital importance of being seen as a leader in OSS development.

[...]

But the benefits of joining OIN go further than this. By officially joining the OIN club, Microsoft gains a stronger right to claim the broader protection of the taboo that covers all open source software, whether or not it utilizes the Linux kernel.

Perhaps the greatest significance of Microsoft's OIN announcement is therefore that it realized that under today's marketplace realities, it was already bound by the same terms, and more.

Yet even after joining the Linux Foundation and becoming an active contributor to multiple open-source efforts, the issue of the 235 patents has remained. Despite repeatedly saying that it "loves Linux," Microsoft had never formally renounced its patent claims. The patent move to the OIN appears to be a step in that direction.

When asked by eWEEK if the OIN patent agreement involved the 235 patents that Microsoft alleges that open-source software infringes on, Microsoft provided a nuanced statement.

"We’re licensing all patents we own that read on the ‘Linux system’ for free to other OIN licensees," a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in an email to eWEEK.

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Ubuntu: Nautilus 3.30 and Mir 1.1.0 Release

Nautilus 3.30 has landed in Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo. The application has finally been updated after staying at version 3.26 for the past two Ubuntu releases.
As many users are probably aware, Ubuntu 18.04 and 18.04 use an older version of Nautilus (3.26) because the default Gnome file manager lots its desktop icons functionality with version 3.28, and the Ubuntu devs wanted to keep this functionality.
About a month ago, Desktop Icons, a Gnome Shell extension that brings back desktop icons in Gnome, was added to the Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo repositories. Thanks to this extension, the desktop icons functionality is no longer needed in Nautilus, so the default Gnome file manager was finally updated to the latest version (3.30) in Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo.

We’re pleased to announce the release of Mir 1.1.0. The main thing to note with this release is a new package mir-graphics-drivers-nvidia with support for Nvidia binary “eglstream” drivers.
There are also some bugfixes and some changes upstreamed by PostmarketOS developers building Mir on Musl and the UBports developers preparing to update the Mir version used by their Ubuntu Touch phones.

The Canonical developers maintaining the Mir display server with its modern focus on being a Wayland compositor have just issued Mir 1.1.
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SUSE: Aris Winardi, New User Interface for Open Build Service and More

Aris Winardi giving a presentation at the openSUSE Asia Summit 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia
Aris Winardi, from Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, wants to inspire the openSUSE Community and Members to get involved in the Elections process and make it the best one yet.
The goal is to encourage all from the Community who are Contributors to the Project to apply for and get their openSUSE Membership, which will give them the right to vote in the upcoming elections and also some extra recognition of the work they do to keep the Project alive.

The content of the following article has been contributed by the Open Build Service (OBS) Team at SUSE. It is based on the two blog posts “OBS Is Revamping Its User Interface, Help Us to Make It Awesome” and “Revamped User Interface for Project, User and Group Pages“, originally published at the OBS web site and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Especially when we see large enterprises having their brand equity destroyed due to data breeches. But don`t be naïve, small companies might not get that kind of visibility but still, according to research, 60 percent of them who suffer a cyber breech are out of business in 6 months.